Improvement in attaching wheels to harvesters and other machines



UNrrnn *rares maar Frise@ ABNER WHITELEY, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT 1N ATTACH'TNG WHEELS To HARVESTERS AND OTHER MACHINES;

Specitication forming part of L etters Patent No. l2,76, dated April 24, 1855.

axles, also attaching said axles to said ,ina-

chines; and .I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description oi' the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part ot' this speciication.

1 This improvement admirably combines giv- 'ing the wheel the necessary pitch and gather,

Securing the wheel on itsaxle, and attaching the axle to the machine'by means of a single screw-bolt, and by the withdrawal of which,

` when attached to a reaping-machine, graindrill, or wheel-cultivator, the same is changed to a different height Without risk or danger to the operator, consequent of other modes of attaching this wheel to the machine.V

y In the accompanying drawings, of which Figure V is a side view, and Fig. VI a crosssection, bis the axle, made in the following manner: That part which occupies the bore. or hole in the hub of the wheel u, I generally make tapering in proportion as IWant the wheel to have pitch-i. e., the more pitch the Wheel is to have the more tapering I make that part of the axle; and on the larger end t of said axle I make a shoulder or collar sufficiently large and thick for said wheel to run against, and it will be seen that theaxle extends through the hub, and that part which projects is made square to receive the washer o, which has a square hole in it, made to t the square end ot' said axle, and when itted on l rivet it slightly to preventy its dropping oft when the screw-bolt g is withdrawn. The planes of the ends of said axle, with the washer on, I make parallel to each other, and oblique to the center ot' said axle when I want the wheel to stand inclined to the plane ofthe horizon, and at the same angle to the center of vsaid axle as I want "the wheel to have to .the horizontal line. 'Then I drill a hole lengthwise through said axle, at right angles tothe planes of the ends of said axle,through`which the bolt g passes and projects beyond the end ot' said axle, and that part which projects has a screw-thread cnt on it which is tted to the l holes in the platef, which have screw-threads cut in them, and by driving said bolt into any one of said holes until it brings the plane or' the larger end of said axle tight against the. plate f. The plane of the larger end ot'said axle being the whole size of the axle and collar gives it a large bearing-surface on the plate f, and thehole through which the boltg passes being near the center' ot' said plane. Now it will be seen that when the said plane is brought tight against the platef by means of the bolt g the large bearing-surface of said plane ou the plate f will prevent said axle giving or bending in any direction, thus giving it'great strength without any portion'of said axle extending into said plate, except the stud e; and it is only necessary for the end of the bolt g to extend to the inside ot' the plate f to give all necessary strength to said axle, thus requiring only the platef, which in the full-sized machine is one-halt' inch thick, and the collar reaping-machine to extend the'reel-rods close up to the whole plane of the wheel a and bring in the grain that would otherwise come in front ofthe wheel-post and could not be brought in by the reel. 'lhe same space is left in the graindrill for the seed-slide and other iixtures to work in, the wheeland axle become attached firmly to the machine, the axle b being held firmly between the head of the boltg and plate f, and thewheel a being secured on the axle by means of washer c (which washer, it will be seen, prevents the hub of the wheel a from acting on the head of the bolt g to tighten or loosen it when the machine is put in motion) and head of bolt g, which head extends over the end of the axle and secures the washer c, the tapering part of the axle b beingia little longer than the hub of the wheel a, soas to give the hub o f the wheel a end play on the axle b. e, the stud in the planeofthe largerend of said axle b, enters any of the holes seen in the platef, just above those having the screwthread in them, and is used to prevent said axle b from revolving on the bolt g. Theplate f, I secure to the machine in any suitable manner, inclining the front edge of said plate toward the center of the space in front of the machine, so as to give the wl1ccl,\vhen attached, the desired gather.

The operation of said wheel and axle is as follows: Vhen said lwheel and axle are secured together, as described, and the stud e is made to enter any ofthe holes in the platef, as described, I pass the bolt g through the hole in the axle b until it reaches the hole in the plate 7". I then turn said boltg with a Wrench until the head of said bolt is brought tightagainst the Washer c and the small end of the axle b, and the plane ot the larger end of said axle l) is brought and held tight against the face of the platef. Now it will be seen that the operator to change the height of the machine has only to withdraw the bolt g to detach said wheel and axle, which he does when standing outside ot' the machine, and raises or lowers the wheel and axle to any other set ot' holes desired, and drives said bolt in, as before described, with his Wrench, all the time standing outside of the machine, Where, it' the team starts, he would be in no danger, such as the operator is exposed to in other modes of attaching said wheel, Where he is obliged to go into said machine and do most ofthe Work of attaching and detachir1g,\vhen,it` the team The simultaneous attachment ot the Wheel (t to or on the axle b, and the aXle b to the platef by means of the bolt g, in combination respectively with the stud e and washer c, as described.

ABNER WHITELEY. Witnesses:

JOHN W. MANKIN, SAML. GRUBB. 

